Season 2 Episode 3 of Franchising with Purpose

Welcome to the 3rd Episode of our Season 2 Series.

Our participants today are:

Amanda LePore, CSA, Griswold Home Care, VP of Learning and Development

Nicole Myhre, Owner-Director, Griswold Home Care, Anoka County, MN.

Shelly Kanther, VP of Marketing, Griswold Home Care

Our focus today will be on the marketing aspect of your new business.

Amanda started off the interview with Shelly Kanther, who comes to the table with a wealth of information to share about the protocols and strategies for marketing a new home business.

The first question for Shelly is:

What does marketing a new business look like?

Marketing a new Home Care business consists of a three-fold marketing target.

New owners will need to market not only to clients and their families, but also to potential employees, such as caregivers, nurses, and office staff. Referral sources, such as healthcare facilities, rehab centers and healthcare social workers, are an important part of the marketing component as you develop your marketing strategy.

The Griswold team provides support to help you market to all these target groups.

The “Care with Us” project has been a great asset to our owners. We gathered some of our caregivers from the area and met in a production studio to discuss caregiving. The staff explained why they have chosen to be caregivers, what their experience in caregiving has been, and what they love most about the opportunity to care for the clients we serve.

We took the information they shared and utilized social media, videos, and professional photography to share their responses. This is a wonderful way to promote Griswold’s caregiving team with information that came directly from some of our current employees.

Nicole, how important is the community engagement side of things to the success of your business?

Community engagement is most of my business so far. I have pursued networking sources to get my name out into the community and I have found a group that meets monthly to discuss the ins and outs of operating a health care business.

The members are from assisted living facilities, independent living, home health and other facilities that care for the elderly in our community. I find the meetings to be informative and helpful to me as I build my business. I also receive exposure for my business as I get to know others in the area who have the same goals as I do in caring for our clients.

I look at these potential referral sources as one of the most important pieces of my marketing strategy, so I am consistent about attending these meetings, and being an active member of my community.

So, talk to us about the consistency factor.

Why is it so important? How do you handle the times when you’re not quite in your comfort zone while trying to recruit clients?

I started by visiting places that didn’t feel quite as threatening as the larger facilities. I went to senior centers and churches to talk about my business, what we do, how we do it, and answered questions about my business. Once I built my confidence speaking to these smaller groups, I was able to move forward without hesitation into other venues.

One of the things I did was contact local healthcare facilities to set up tours. I have a therapy dog named Scout, who often accompanies me, if the facility is willing. Our tours are usually a big success and allow me to get to know people in a more informal way than I would in the business office.

I was hesitant to ask for referrals before we enrolled our first client, so I focused on the fact that Griswold Home Health has been around since 1982, and the reputation of the company nationwide.

In closing today’s session, Shelly discussed the resources available to new franchisees through the marketing and operations team that are accessible and helpful when it comes to marketing.

Assistance with social media and internet marketing is available to help new owners ensure they have an online presence and reach as many people as possible to help attract clients and staff.

We also have a bi-weekly blog that provides insight into home care and issues affecting the elderly and their families. We assist with websites, programs, and platforms that are essential to a successful and productive launch of your new home care business.

What else would you like to add, Nicole, in closing today?

My focus is to build connections in my community and to build a business that people feel comfortable with and that they can trust. A caring and genuine attitude with the people I meet seem to be working very well for me.

I love this quote by Maya Angelou and I try to live and work by it.

“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

See you next time!